Dravid joins the 10,000 club

The landmark came in a characteristically low-key manner, with a drive to long-on for a single, as Rahul Dravid became only the sixth player to get to 10,000 runs in one-day internationals. Of the batsmen who have reached the milestone, Sachin Tendulkar has done it in the least number of innings - only 259 - while Dravid's 287 innings puts him in fourth place. (Click here for the list of highest run-getters in ODIs.) Interestingly, four of the six batsmen went on to get a 50-plus score in the innings in which they got to 10,000 runs: apart from Dravid, who made 66 today, Sanath Jayasuriya (67) and Sourav Ganguly (51) made half-centuries, while Tendulkar went on to make 139 against Australia at Indore in 2001. Brian Lara (44 against Pakistan at Karachi in 2005-06) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (41 against India in the Champions Trophy in 2004) were the ones who missed on celebrating the landmark in style.

The 10,000 club, and the number of ODIs they needed to get there

Batsman

Innings

Runs

Average

100s/ 50s

Sachin Tendulkar

259

10,105

42.63

28/ 50

Sourav Ganguly

263

10,018

41.22

22/ 60

Brian Lara

278

10,019

40.56

19/ 61

Rahul Dravid

287

10,044

39.08

12/ 77

Inzamam-ul-Haq

299

10,018

38.98

10/ 70

Sanath Jayasuriya

328

10.057

32.13

18/ 58

Dravid had been through a bit of an ODI trough last year, but his recent numbers show he has clearly come out of it - in his last 11 innings, Dravid's notched up six half-centuries plus a 49, and averages nearly 47.

Dravid's milestone was prominent, but the performance of the day came from Zaheer Khan, whose 5 for 42 was his first five-for in ODIs. Since coming back into the international fold on the tour to South Africa late last year, Zaheer has been in superb form, with 15 wickets in nine matches at an average of 23.13, which is a noticeable improvement on his career average of 27.54.

These are also turning out to be more profitable days for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose unbeaten 67 was his fourth half-century in his last 12 innings, during which period he averages a healthy 49.78. Dhoni's 133-run partnership with Dravid was their third century stand in just 17 innings. They also have five half-century partnerships, and average an excellent 65.20 runs per stand.

For Sri Lanka, there wasn't as much to celebrate. The one player who came out of this defeat with his confidence enhanced was Russel Arnold, who had scored just 85 in his previous seven ODI innings.